Choctaw County Funeral Home Owner Arrested for Defrauding Customers

Today, Attorney General Jim Hood announced the arrest of 42-year-old Kimredell Dotson on four counts of committing false pretense in connection with his collection of insurance premiums on two separate life insurance policies and failing to forward the premiums to the insurance company.

Dotson, a funeral home owner in McCool, turned himself in to the Choctaw County Sheriff’s Office Thursday after a warrant was issued following an indictment by a Choctaw County grand jury last month on the four charges. He was indicted for defrauding his customers in an amount greater than $500, in four separate instances between 2010 and 2013.

Dotson made false representations to his customers that he was forwarding their insurance premium payments to Security National Life Insurance Company for their life insurance policies. However, the payments were never turned in to the company. His fraudulent activity was discovered as part of an investigation by the Secretary of State’s Office and the Mississippi Insurance Department and was then referred to the Insurance Integrity Enforcement Bureau at the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.

Investigators Michael Stevens and Jerry Spell with the Attorney General’s Insurance Integrity Enforcement Bureau participated in the arrest along with the Choctaw County Sheriff’s Office.

If convicted, Dotson faces up to 40 years in prison. A charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was investigated by Kenneth West with the AG’s Insurance Integrity Enforcement Bureau, with assistance from the Mississippi Department of Insurance and Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorney General Robert “Bob” Anderson with the AG’s Public Integrity Division.